Date of Award

5-2026

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Honors Thesis

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Candice Dreves

Second Advisor

Jenny Cox

Abstract

In science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields students are facing exams with record high rates of worry and discomfort, this is known as test anxiety (Rajiah, et al., 2014). Factors such as self-concept (Simpkins et al., 2006) and views of control (Levenson, 1974) are negatively affected by examinations (the terms ‘exam’ and ‘test’ will be used interchangeably) (Spielberger, 1980). A student’s fear of failure, or how the students perceive setbacks or challenges, impacts and is impacted by test anxiety (Henry et al., 2021; Conroy, et al., 2002). Being established by the professor, the exam approach is beyond a student’s control, making it influential to self-perceptions (McDaniel, 2011). A low-stakes approach includes a lower percentage of the course grade, more frequent testing, and partial credit or retakes (Hsu, 2021). A high-stakes approach includes few exams worth the majority of the class grade (Attali, 2011). Females (Akyol et al., 2018) and those who have a diagnosis of anxiety (Brown, et al., 1992) are thought to perform worse on high-stakes exams. This study explored exam approach impacts on STEM students’ test anxiety and self-perception. It was hypothesized that high-stakes exams would correlate with higher test anxiety, greater fear of failure, and lower perception of control. STEM students completed a survey regarding their academic self-concept, locus of control, fear of failure, test anxiety, and exam approach. The results of this study show high-stakes exams are correlated with test anxiety, greater fear of failure, and lower perception of control. The results showed high-stakes exams had no significant difference in effect on those diagnosed with anxiety versus not. These findings highlight a need to evaluate what the best standard practice is in the classroom and ensure it is what’s most effective for all students.

Download

Included in

Psychology Commons

Share

COinS